


Time Spent Unrecorded

by Symphoenae



Series: Soul Song AUniverse [3]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, I love these kids, Idiots in denial, everything in between, mainly callum and rayla but there might be other characters here and there, probably some pining, rayllum birthday bash, rayllum month!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25009126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symphoenae/pseuds/Symphoenae
Summary: It's Rayllum Month! Here's my collection of Birthday Bash prompts all set in my Soul Song AUniverse~!
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Series: Soul Song AUniverse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721407
Comments: 22
Kudos: 57





	1. Anniversary

**Author's Note:**

> None of the BDB prompts are going to be quite exactly what you're expecting. Because I love to fuck around with people's expectations. Plus, this is probably the only extra content for the Soul Song AUniverse I'll provide, even if it isn't canon to the plot of SOS itself.
> 
> I'll be posting this on my Tumblr as well, because why not, even though I hate the formatting over there. So yee. My tumblr has the same name as my Ao3 account here, it's not too hard to find.

Despite the short amount of time that Rayla had been around Callum, she already felt like she knew him. Well, she knew most of him. There was only so much information she could learn about the boy in a short amount of time. One of the most common things they liked to do together nowadays was to just simply hang out in their little Midnight Forest clearing and just  _ be.  _ The spot was nice and cut out from the rest of the world, and it often made it feel like they were the only two people in the entire universe. Something about that funny little idea made Rayla’s insides buzz with a strange warmth.

But that wasn’t what she was focused on today. They were doing exactly what she had described only a few words ago, minding their own business in their favorite grassy spot. Sometimes Callum would turn his phone on and play a song off of YouTube, anything he felt that was good or fit the mood. That was another thing Rayla found mystifying about him; he didn’t just like music, and had the ability to share it much better with others. It was almost like he spoke in music itself. He had an uncanny ability to find a song for everything, every emotion, every situation, every atmosphere. It was so interesting, and it added an air of awe to him. Like, who was this boy and how could he speak with such beauty, without speaking at all?

_ Focus, Rayla!  _ She had to scold herself, slight heat pooling in her cheeks as she actually registered the weight of her thoughts. That wasn’t what she was trying to focus on. She was trying to focus on why Callum seemed so out of it today, seemingly for no reason. Definitely no reason she knew of. Instead of his phone being out and playing a song, the soul orb she’d gifted him was active and lazily swirling around his body. But it was strange- at times, she could swear she heard a song coming from the boy, but for the most part there was silence. His body was tense, and at other times the string of active soul energy seemed to struggle in place for a split second before continuing its movement. It was almost like a scratch on a record player, the way it seemed to fight against the force stopping it. The only thing that could’ve been stopping it was Callum, so what was he hiding? He was clearly upset about something, and her orb was reacting to it, but he was almost desperately trying to keep it quiet.

If it was any other time, Rayla would trust him to tell her if he was feeling particularly defeated by his mental struggles, but he wasn’t saying anything now. Did that mean it was something different? Did he get into a fight with Claudia? Or maybe his brother or aunt? Rayla didn’t have any clue.

“I can hear you thinking, you know.” Callum softly said, opening his eyes and glazing sideways at her. “That, and I can feel your eyes boring holes into my skull. Something the matter?”

“I should be asking you that!” Rayla replied, a little too fast, slapping a hand over her mouth. “I mean… you just. You seem a little upset, and I worry for you. You usually tell me when something’s bugging you, but you didn’t this time, and I wasn’t sure if I should ask, or if that was being too pushy…”

Callum’s eyes softened. She paid so much attention to his mannerisms, it was such a caring thing to do. “Rayla, slow down. You’re alright. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it.” He paused, breaking his eye contact. “It’s just personal. I don’t know how well I would fair talking about it out loud. I can handle myself in my head just fine, it’s just… words make it so much more real.”

Rayla frowned at him with even more concern pooling in her eyes. “Hey. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. I don’t have any right to know everything. I would never want to force you into anything you didn’t want.”

Callum gave her a small smile. “I know. I would never think that you would, anyway. Do you think our time together means so little, even though it’s been short? I trust you more than I probably ought to at this point, but I don’t really care about that.”

Rayla had to look away, the heat returning to her cheeks in full force at his words. Dammit, Rayla, you’ve known this boy for only a few weeks, get it together! “I… that’s very sweet. I trust you too. Though I don’t know if it’s because you’ve already heard my soul song, or if… I dunno.”

“I have no problem with working to deserve your trust properly, Rayla.”

Rayla’s frown deepened. “Don’t say it like that. It makes you sound like you think you’re a bad person.”

Callum shot her a knowing look.

“Okay we’re going to work on changing that, starting like two weeks ago.”

She got a laugh out of him that time, but his mirth quickly faded into a somber little smile. Something in his attitude changed then, and he suddenly stopped fighting the soul orb as a sad melody began to play. He sighed.

“It’s just… my mom. She died today, around eleven years ago. It had to happen at some point, y'know. The anniversary, I mean. I sometimes pretend it’s not a thing that exists.”

“Oh, Callum…” Rayla was floored. Here he was, on the anniversary of his mother’s death, and he’d still agreed to hang out with her, of all things? Why wouldn’t he choose to be with his family for this? Rayla was not more important than grieving.

“I-”

“You’re probably going to ask me why the hell I’m out here with you instead of my brother and aunt, right?”

Rayla stopped. “Well, yes. Not that I don’t want to hang out with you, but it just seems… wrong.”

“Hmm.” Callum pondered. “I suppose that makes sense. But sometimes you wanna just try and forget that a day is bad, you know? And… hanging out with you makes me happy. Even if it’s corny to admit that.” He mumbled out, and Rayla could swear there was a faint sheen of red on his own cheeks.

Nah.

Despite herself, a goofy grin made its way to her face. She made him happy. There was something so inherently warm about the concept of her making someone happy, and it was even stronger because it was Callum.

Dare she admit to herself that she could have a crush on him already?

“I’m glad I can help you forget about things, even if they still linger in your head.” Rayla said quietly, fiddling with a piece of grass to distract herself from meeting his eyes. “Losing parents is never easy, especially if you remember them. Missing them can feel like all the breath in your lungs gets knocked out in one punch to the gut. My parents passed away when I was a bit younger than you, and I probably don’t have a memory of them as clear as your memory of your mom.”

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t either. And I’ll have to go through this again soon, with my dad. Step dad. I don’t know, I never really got to grow up with him. That’s a whole other can of worms I rather not think about at this moment, to be honest.” Callum admitted with a sigh. “I don’t know if this makes any sense, but I’ve found that sometimes hanging around my friends during these points is better than hanging around my actual blood family. I don’t know why exactly. Maybe something about finding family within my friends, even though they are small in number. Just looking at my blood family reminds me of who’s no longer there. But I can’t tell them that. I can’t possibly think it’s fair to blame them for something that was out of their control just as much as it was out of mine.”

Rayla sat thinking for a moment. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a terrible thing. It’s okay to grieve, and I think I get why you think that way. It’s not easy to be around relatives of the relative that passed away. Your aunt, she was your mom’s sister, right? That can’t be very soothing. She looks like your mom, but she isn’t quite. That still hurts, and it’s okay. Needing your space is perfectly okay.”

Callum looked at her then, and she finally met his gaze again. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to tell Rayla that Callum was on the brink of breaking down, so before he could, she scooted closer to him and gently wrapped her arms around the boy, who’s body had begun to tremble slightly. She buried a hand in his soft brown hair, burying her face slightly into the space between the crook of his neck and his shoulder. She felt his arms slowly return the favor, wrapping around her gently, before tightening around her as if she was the only thing keeping him from floating away or drowning. Rayla heard faint sniffles and short intakes of air from him, and she squeezed him once. It broke her heart that Callum could be so kind and fun at one moment, and then so sad and broken the next. He never deserved to go through any of this. The world was cruel, and she’d curse it a million times for the suffering it had put him through.

“You’re okay Callum, I’m here. I’m here.” She whispered softly, as soothingly as she could. She’d never been the best at comforting another person through a breakdown, but Callum made her so desperate to try.

_ I’m here. I always will be. _


	2. Mistake/Amends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is less direct Rayllum as opposed to indirect Rayllum. Not sure if this would normally count but like I said, I'm trying to be a bit more original with how I go about the BDB prompts! Yeh

“Um… Mr. Runaan, sir? Could we… speak for a moment?” Callum asked nervously from the top of the basement stairs.

The stone wall of a man looked up from his spot at the kitchen table, where he was casually grading papers for his students. Runaan really was the opposite of a person you’d consider to be an elementary school teacher, but according to Ezran, he was somehow kind and stoic to the kids at the same time. Callum had yet to see the kind part.

“Yes, young Callum?” Runaan asked simply, gesturing for him to step forward.

Callum made a face.  _ Why did everyone call him that?  _ “I was, uh… looking to apologize for my behavior when we were first meeting. I know I already apologized once for letting my Soul Perception get out of control, but I just… wanted to say it again. I know you don’t particularly like me, and that’s fine, I don’t necessarily need you to like me, but…” He trailed off suddenly, his face contorting into an expression of hesitation.

Runaan didn’t like hesitation. Hesitation was the difference between life and death in any given situation. “But what, Callum?”

“I just… wanted to try to at least get along neutrally with you, for the sake of Rayla. She’s a good person, and I really want to be her friend, but I don’t think it would do her any good to see us get along so poorly. She’s lost so much, and she barely has anyone her age to hang around with. That has to be incredibly lonely, and I don’t want her to have to go through that anymore. So… could we try to just dislike each other silently or something? N-not that I dislike you! I don’t mind you, I just… oh, this isn’t helping my case at all.” Callum groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “You know what, forget it. I’m not even sure if I deserve your respect anyways…”

Runaan was taken aback, to say the least. Truth be told, after Callum had apologized to him the first time during that dinner meeting, he’d found a spot or respect growing for him already. It was now days, maybe even a week later after that incident. It had given Runaan time to think, and he was an aware enough man to realize that he’d actually been in the wrong at that point. Though getting him to admit that would be like pulling teeth. He didn’t like admitting he was wrong. But here Callum was, before him in a nervous meltdown, trying to make amends for the sake of his daughter. Not even himself, but for Rayla.

“Listen, Callum.” Runaan started slowly, and a bit awkwardly. “I don’t… dislike you. You have to understand that as a person, I’m just very cut off and steely. That incident at your house was a mistake, and you shouldn’t be apologizing for it. I’ve come to my senses enough to know that snapping at you for an accident is pointless and… rude. You’ve come here to me to try and make a ‘tolerable’ bond between the two of us for Rayla’s sake, and that surprises me. With all of the unfamiliar people I’ve met in my life, most of them had their own selfish motives. You seem very keen to do things for the sake of my daughter, even if it makes you uncomfortable. Others would consider you a bit of a doormat, but in terms of who you’d do it for, I am glad that you would try your best to keep Rayla happy.”

Callum seemed completely baffled by his response. “O-of course, sir! Rayla has already changed my life for the better in such a short time, she’s really amazing, how could I not want to do the same for her?” He paused, a splash of red suddenly covering his cheeks as he thought about the weight his words could carry. “Um! Yeah! I want to be a good friend for her. She’s already proven to be a good friend to me. I don’t have many friends either, so… I want to try to keep them as best as I can.”

Runaan nodded slowly. “Then there is nothing to worry about. Like I said, I don’t dislike you, Callum. I’m thankful for what you’ve done and seem ready to do for Rayla. I don’t think letting you join the Moonshadows was any sort of mistake. As long as you’re good to her, we shouldn’t have any problems. But if I hear anything about you causing Rayla pain or harm, I will not hesitate to kill you.”

Callum gulped. “Yep! Understood sir! Thank you!”

Runaan chuckled lightly to himself as Callum rushed back down the basement stairs, most likely to continue his training with the older man’s husband. Runaan trusted the judgement of Ethari as well, and he seemed to be very fond of the boy already. If Ethari was keen on him, then who was he to disagree? After all, Callum seemed very intent on proving himself, even if it was by accident.

_ For Rayla. Everything for Rayla. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said before, I'm posting these to my Tumblr as well, because why not. This is my first time actually doing a challenge like this, I don't think I would've dared to try if I hadn't joined a certain Rayllum discord. Love you all <3


	3. Travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, posting this early to balance out the mega angst I released earlier with Song Of Silence's 18th chapter, everyone got so mad at me sfdgfhgj

“Duren wasn’t exactly the most interesting place. I guess it wasn’t terrible, but from what I remember there wasn’t anything that interesting near my house for a six year old to want.” Callum recalled. “I was one of the only kids in my neighborhood, actually. There were others, I think, but I was still really shy and awkward. So I never really made friends at that point. I would only ever hear their soul songs drifting on the wind when they were nearby.”

Rayla stared up at his face, enamored with his words. The two of them had been messing around earlier, playing video games downstairs, before the two of them had moved to have some more private conversations in Callum’s room. He’d been walking slightly in front of her, and she’d gotten a sudden playful urge. A second later, she’d lunged at his back with a wide grin and knocked both of them haphazardly onto his bed. Rayla was incredibly jealous of how soft and comfortable his bed was, and Callum had since noticed a habit of her always wanting to sit on it whenever she came over. So this was nothing new.

After they collapsed with breathless giggles into the soft mattress, both seemed to move with the same intent. Callum had shifted himself to sit with his back leaning against his pillows and part of his headboard, while Rayla sat a little bit lower next to him, making sure her head was fully on the part of the pillows not already taken by Callum’s upper body. This made it look like she was cuddled up against him, with her head almost resting on his shoulder, but it wasn’t like that.

A stray thought passed Rayla’s mind that she wouldn’t mind cuddling with Callum. She had to violently tell that thought to be quiet.

“And, well, you know the rest I guess. I moved here shortly after turning six. I haven’t really traveled anywhere else since then. But what about you? What was the Silvergrove like?”

Rayla hummed, racking her brain for memories of her first home. “Honestly, I don’t remember too much, since I was usually never allowed out a lot. Especially after my parents… you know. Runaan and Ethari were immovable on the rule of not being able to leave their sight. The few times I was allowed to leave the house, or the neighborhood for that matter, it was usually just to go to another house or a small business building. I remember that it was a rather green place, from what I saw out the car window. Lots of trees, and cool plants. There were these strange moths that would apparently only come out at night as well. It was almost mystical to me, considering I never truly got to experience it.”

Callum frowned. “God, you were so contained as a kid… that’s so unfair.”

Rayla shrugged with a ‘I know’ look on her face. “Yeah, life’s unfair. I would’ve had a normal childhood if I didn’t have this stupid power, but then again, I never would’ve met you.” She said, her voice getting softer at the end.

Was it just her imagination, or was Callum blushing at her statement?

“W-well, yeah, that’s a good outcome of your power. I can guarantee that my life would still be on a downhill spiral if we’d never met. You’ve done so much for me already, and I can’t thank you enough.”

Rayla felt herself blushing now. “Of course.” She paused. “Do you think we could travel after this is all over? Take trips to our hometowns and really see them for what they are?”

Callum gave her a smirk. “I don’t think you’d be that interested in Duren.”

She blinked. “Oh, you want me… to go with you, in that hypothetical situation?”

Callum looked mortified suddenly. “O-oh! I didn’t mean to assume- you don’t have to go with me. That’s if we can even do our travels in the first place… err, forget I said anything?”

Rayla smiled, finding his mini flustered panic adorable. “Relax, dummy, I wouldn’t mind taking a road trip with you. As long as we get to go to my home town too.”

“Really?”

“Of course!” Rayla nodded. “I think it could be fun! The two of us, romping around the towns, causing the good kind of chaos. Though I suppose we’d have to ask our parents for spending money… It could be a vacation! And… I wouldn’t mind getting to truly experience my home town for the first time with my friend.” She admitted softly.

Callum returned her soft smile. “Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways. Go read SOS if you want a full understanding of this universe I've built. I love writing that story, and if you know anything about me I've never been able to do multi-chapter fics. And here I am, on chapter 18 of this funny little thing called SOS. I actually believe I can finish it. So to everyone who's reading it as well, thank you so much for your support so far <3


	4. Baking/Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tell me exactly why I’m here at your house, watching you fail to make these pastry thingies?” Rayla asked with a teasing tone.
> 
> “They’re called jelly tarts, Rayla, and you’re supposed to be helping me.” Callum replied with a slight whine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay I lowkey cheated with this one but who cares. I took the jelly tart drabble from SOS chapter 15 and expanded on it a bit for this prompt. Sue me

“Tell me exactly why I’m here at your house, watching you fail to make these pastry thingies?” Rayla asked with a teasing tone.

“They’re called jelly tarts, Rayla, and you’re supposed to be helping me.” Callum replied with a slight whine.

“I think it’s funnier to watch you struggle with the dough shape.”

“Gee, thanks.” He paused. “But to answer your question, I thought it would be… fun to just hang out for a bit today. Do something relatively normal among other things. I just thought…”

Rayla could sense the self-doubt brewing in him from a mile away, sending her into a slight panic. “No no! It’s okay, I understand the reasoning. I’m just wondering because you seem to be god awful at baking and I know for a fact I am also terrible at baking.”

Callum snorted. “You’re just so full of compliments, aren’t you?”

“Of course! Don’t you know me, Callum?”

“Well, I could be honest, I could get to know a lot more about you, Rayla.”

Silence. Both of them seemed to be taken aback by the honest statement, as if it wasn’t expected. It occurred to Rayla that he wasn’t wrong at all- the circumstances that they’d been brought together hadn’t exactly started with getting to know the other. It had been more of a 'chance encounter and suddenly we’re both threatened by the same bastard of a man’. And they get along pretty well, despite it all, but besides the trauma and the abilities the two have shared, there wasn’t much else they knew about each other. Well, that wouldn’t do, would it?

“Do you wanna go to town center and get a coffee sometime?” Rayla blurted before she could think about what she was saying.

Callum blinked. “Are… are you asking me on a date?”

The blush that bloomed on Rayla’s face was something Callum would not admit that he immediately committed to memory- it was cute, okay? A cute facial expression that he could use in drawing practice later. Nothing else to it, clearly.

“Th-that came out wrong, I’m sorry! That’s not what I was trying to imply, I was just thinking about what you said and you’re absolutely right and I thought I would try to put in an effort like you are and-”

“Breathe, Rayla.” Callum interrupted with a few chuckles. “No need for this furious backpedaling, I was only teasing. We can go out for a not coffee date sometime, I don’t mind!”

She stopped, still refusing to look him in the eye. “R-right. Of course. You’re understanding, I should have a little more faith in you.”

“I’d sacrifice faith for the event that you actually come here and help me shape these jelly tarts.”

“I’d rather watch the jelly you’re unaware of drip down the counter and onto the floor.”

“Oh shit !” Callum yelped, dropping the tart he had in his hands to furiously try and block the jelly from dripping any further.

Rayla doubled over in laughter at his antics, Earning herself an unamused pout from the boy. She took a moment to calm herself down as Callum moved across the kitchen to get a paper towel, before she stepped forward until she was right in front of the counter. She looked at him expectantly, a little playful smile sitting pretty on her lips. “Right then, show me how to make these, jelly prince.”

Callum gave her an unimpressed look. “Jelly prince? Really? What is it with you and giving me nicknames with prince in the title? Claudia said you’d once referred to me as ‘sad prince’ when she was talking to you. Care to explain yourself?”

Rayla flushed a little. Curse Claudia for mentioning that to him- she couldn’t tell him that she had the mental image of him being a prince and her being a knight after that one time she had to bridal carry him back to his house. It was originally just a funny little inside joke to herself, but it was foolish for her to keep denying the fact that its meaning had changed in the past few weeks.

Not that she liked admitting this to herself.

“Honestly, I don’t even know why I called you a prince in the first place. It just came out of my mouth and now it’s stuck.” She lied through her teeth.

Thankfully, Callum seemed to accept this. “What, because I’m totally not a dashing, handsome prince in real life? I can see right through you, Rayla, admit it. I’m a total catch.” He teased.

Rayla rolled her eyes, worrying for a second that he hadn’t actually accepted her lie. “Ha ha, very funny. You may be a catch, but you’re also a massive dork. I think that might be a dealbreaker, if I’m being quite honest.”

Callum feigned hurt, clutching a hand over his heart. “Oh! I’ve been wounded! What a brutal strike!”

“You’re really not helping your case about being a dork here, Callum.” Rayla said with a smirk.

“You’re no fun.” Callum pouted, returning to his spot in front of the counter. “Whatever, you’ll find my dorkiness endearing one of these days. Come, let me show you how to make a jelly tart.”

_ Dummy,  _ Rayla thought to herself as she watched his tutorial.  _ Your dorkiness is already endearing.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOS getting a lot of attention lately and it's got me feeling a little giddy not gonna lie. It hit 200 kudos today,,, SOS is my biggest project ever. Truly. The support means a lot <3


	5. Nightmare/comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla wasn’t one to get nightmares on a normal basis. Sure, she could have a few here and there, on particularly crummy days that bled into horrendous nights, but normally she slept perfectly fine.
> 
> Tonight was not one of those nights. Very far from it, in fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im posting this a bit early because Im a lazy fuck. The next prompt is the last one I have written so far, Im still on the edge of giving this challenge up because fuck

Rayla wasn’t one to get nightmares on a normal basis. Sure, she could have a few here and there, on particularly crummy days that bled into horrendous nights, but normally she slept perfectly fine.

Tonight was not one of those nights. Very far from it, in fact.

Rayla had sworn she’d gotten over the primal fear of having dreams where Ethari and Runaan would fall to Aaravos, because she truly believed that they could handle themselves. The nightmares about her parents falling to him still hurt, but she had been young enough when it actually happened to not have a clear memory of the event, thus she could still handle herself when the nightmares chose them to kill in front of her. But this wasn’t what the nightmare did this time.

This time, her nightmare had decided to show her Callum falling to Aaravos.

And this one scared the shit out of her.

Rayla squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to calm her breathing down as she sat upright on her bed in the dark. She blindly grabbed around for her phone, which she got a hold of after a few failed attempts. She vaguely registered that the time said somewhere around two in the morning, that wasn’t what she was looking for. She scrambled to unlock her phone and fired off a quick text to a certain someone.

_ Rayla [2:13am] _

_ Hey… Sorry, I know it’s late. Are you doing alright? _

It was stupid. It sounded stupid. She didn’t want to openly admit to Callum first thing that she had a nightmare about him and the first thing she did when she woke up was worry about him. It was still a rather harmless thing, but admitting it to him made it so she admitted it to herself, and she was still desperately trying to push down those ridiculous feelings that had been growing ever since they became friends.

She didn’t actually expect him to text back so soon, or at all for that matter.

_ Callum [2:16am] _

_ More or less, depends on how you view me constantly staying up to this god forsaken hour. What’s up? _

Rayla grinned despite herself. At least she hadn’t woken him up, then she would’ve felt extra bad. Her nightmare panic began to gradually fade as she replayed in her head that  _ he was fine, he was okay, he responded, he’s alive.  _ She just wished her nightmare wasn’t so close to being reality all of the time.

_ Rayla [2:18am] _

_ Ah, it’s nothing that important. I just had a nightmare, a rare one that actually gets to me a bit. I’ll be fine. _

Rayla bit her lip. She didn’t really want to go back to sleep just yet, her room felt cold and empty, and she was hoping slightly that Callum would engage in a long conversation with her just to take her mind off of things. She couldn’t bear to ask that of him, though, he had school in the morning, and he rarely got good sleep anyways. Who was she to deny him more sleep because of a silly nightmare?

_ Callum [2:24am] _

_ Hey. Stop thinking so hard and look outside your window. _

...What had he done?

Rayla scrambled out of bed, her eyesight having long since adjusted to the darkness of her room, rushing over to her window where she opened the shades and looked down. To her amazement, Callum stood outside below her bedroom window, where he waved slightly up to her with a rather guilty-looking grin. She narrowed her eyes, sliding her window open.

“What the  _ hell  _ are you doing?! It’s two in the morning!”

“Yeah, but you said you had a nightmare. And I was careful jumping off my roof this time!” He replied sheepishly.

“You- you jumped off your roof again.” It wasn’t even a question, it was just pure exasperation. This ridiculous, sweet,  _ wonderful boy-  _ “And you didn’t even have anyone to catch you this time! What the heck Callum! That could’ve been so dangerous!” She hissed at him.

Callum shrugged with a goofy grin. “Yeah, but I’m fine. And I’ll catch you.”

Rayla stopped dead, heat pooling in her cheeks as she slowly realized what he was insinuating. “Are you mad?! I can’t jump out my window to join you!”

Callum pouted. “Why not? You’ve gone out into the Midnight Forest by yourself in the middle of the night before, what’s stopping you from coming with me?”

Rayla stumbled to come up with an answer. “I just… don’t think jumping out my window is a good idea.”

“Have you no faith in me, Rayla? I know I might be incredibly skinny, but I can still catch you.”

Rayla bit her lip again, hard. “Callum.”

“I just wanted to help you forget about the nightmare. I won’t force you to tell me what it was about, but I can assume a bit of it. I thought maybe it would help more if you could physically see me instead of me just texting you.” Callum admitted quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I can’t really force you to do something this ridiculous either. Uh… I can just forget about my plan.”

Rayla nearly melted. How, how could he be so kind? So adorable? It wasn’t like she  _ didn’t  _ want to fall into his arms, she just didn’t think Ethari and Runaan would appreciate waking up to find her not in the house. But at the same time, they were just going to the forest, how harmful could that be?

She took a breath. A deep one, before she backed up a little from the window. She could imagine Callum’s face of confusion, seeing her vanish from the window, before she gave herself a running start- still being as quiet as she could- and leapt straight out of the window.

Was this one of the craziest things she’s done? Absolutely.

Callum let out a startled noise,adjusting himself accordingly to match her landing point, outstretching his arms quickly before she turned into a splatter on the pavement. The landing was far from soft, as expected, but it was definitely better than eating concrete.

“Oof!” They both exclaimed as their bodies slammed together, the force of Rayla’s movement knocking Callum back a few good steps. But other than that, the stunt was a success.

“Hello.” Callum greeted softly with a cheeky grin, looking down at her.

Rayla snorted, standing back up fully but not yet leaving the safety of his arms. “Greetings.”

“Not so bad, eh?”

“Shut up, you dummy. Let’s just go before someone complains about kids flying out of their windows.”

Callum laughed at that, before nodding and (unfortunately) taking his arms away from around her. However, he outstretched a hand again, gesturing to Rayla to take it. She flushed slightly, but didn’t hesitate to intertwine her hand into his. He was warm.

“So… our clearing?” Callum asked casually as they walked slowly into the treeline.

Rayla nodded. “Mmhmm. It’s honestly the best place in the forest. When was the last time you just hung out in the middle of dense forest with no end in sight? That sounds like a nightmare of its own.”

Callum groaned. “Bad. Bad Rayla, unfunny joke.”

Rayla grinned, elbowing him in the side. “You love it.”

Callum rolled his eyes at her, but couldn’t stop the fond smile from forming on his face. “Maybe I do.”

Neither of them had the guts to think deeper about what those words could mean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, who'd rather dedicate all her time to writing SOS and nothing else  
> Idk man Im having a bit of a hazy week, someone remind me to take my anxiety meds


	6. Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla lifted her head slightly from its place snuggled a little into Callum’s chest. As much as this was a little embarrassing, and she was just barely keeping her face from turning into a tomato, the nightmare had shaken her a little bit more than she was hoping. So the moment they’d gotten to the clearing in the woods, the two sat down leaning back against the large stone that sat near the center. If Callum was worried or uncomfortable, he certainly wasn’t saying anything. He was just freely allowing her to lightly cuddle up to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ill be honest with yall I don't know if im gonna do the last 10 prompts of this event. My brain power is full of SOS and my math class lol I dont have enough CPU left

“You know what, hanging out here and just doing nothing is getting kinda boring.” Callum complained to the air.

Rayla lifted her head slightly from its place snuggled a little into Callum’s chest. As much as this was a little embarrassing, and she was just barely keeping her face from turning into a tomato, the nightmare had shaken her a little bit more than she was hoping. So the moment they’d gotten to the clearing in the woods, the two sat down leaning back against the large stone that sat near the center. If Callum was worried or uncomfortable, he certainly wasn’t saying anything. He was just freely allowing her to lightly cuddle up to him.

Rayla would most likely blame the terrible hour for this choice later.

“Oh? And what would you suggest to combat your fatal boredom?” She asked teasingly, poking him in the side.

He flinched and batted her hand away lightly, sticking his tongue out at her. “Rude.” He paused, considering her question. “Well… I know of one thing. And it could be fun! But only if you’re up to it. You seem rather comfortable where you are.”

Rayla’s jaw dropped. “You- that’s so unfair, you can’t tease me back like that!”

Callum snickered. “All’s fair in love and war. What do you say?”

Rayla pouted, embarrassed that she had been one-upped. “Fine. Show me the world, prince Aladdin.”

Callum snorted, standing up after Rayla removed herself from his space. “That’s three different nicknames with the word prince in it now. You’re making quite a collection.” He rolled his shoulders, focusing for a moment, before his oh-so-familiar soul orb morphed into its active form and began to orbit around his shoulders. A soft, slow melody began to ring out as Callum once again outstretched a hand out to her. “Come dance with me!”

Rayla gaped. “Dance? That’s your plan? You really are a massive dork.” She giggled to herself as he shot her an exasperated look. “I’m bad at dancing, Callum, you know this.”

“Not true! We danced at your house before, remember! Granted, that was with Zym and Claudia too, but I’m pretty sure it was my hands you were holding onto as we grooved.”

Rayla was going to die. She could not handle this confident, teasing Callum. Where was this second personality coming from? He could be a shy dork one second and then turn into a confident force of nature the next. This was illegal. Nevertheless, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

“Besides, no one’s watching. No one’s requiring us to dance well. We can just enjoy the moment, forget about all the bad stuff, and just be.” Callum replied with such earnestness.

Ack, how could she say no to him, like, ever? This was wildly unfair.

“I suppose you’re right.” Rayla conceded. “Though I wouldn’t necessarily call this song a dancing song.”

She was right; in all areas, it was soft and slow, with no real beat to match one’s dancing to. But this clearly didn’t bother the DJ.

“Perhaps not, but it fits the mood, doesn’t it?” Callum asked, even though he knew Rayla would agree with him. “It’s one of the songs I listen to normally when I’m getting ready to sleep. It’s called  [ _ Forest _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMkxWKlgr3Y) _.  _ I think it’s nice. Reminds me of where we are now.”

With no beat to step to, the pair began to lazily sway back and forth. This wasn’t really dancing in Rayla’s eyes, but something about being this close to Callum while they just moved a little bit was putting her in a bit of a trance. That, and the music wasn’t helping at all.

“...This is nice.” Rayla admitted quietly, her head almost buried in his shoulder.

“...Yeah, I agree.” Callum replied just as quietly.

They continued to sway to Callum’s music in silence, comfortable and curious at the same time. What were these feelings? And why were they so strong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOS is so close to the part 1 finale dude Im like trying so hard to get there before I die of math


End file.
